Chapter 7

The other hoblins also knelt before me. "Forgive us, warrior of Gemuria!" they all said in unison.

I could see Eldery Orum's arms were trembling, clearly unable to maintain his kneeling position, so I immediately approached him. I helped him to his feet, then picked up the staff he had dropped and returned it to him for support.

The female hoblins who had been holding my basket also knelt before me. "I apologize, noble warrior, for the wrong I have done to you. I only took that basket because we truly needed food, and I saw it contained something, so I thought to steal it. I'm truly sorry…" She bowed her head, her eyes brimming with tears as she begged forgiveness.

I could see the sadness etched on all their faces. They indeed looked like they were starving. Their fragile bodies were proof of that.

I glanced at the basket I was carrying.

At that moment, I made a decision. I unlatched it and set it on the ground. They all looked at me while still kneeling. I opened the basket and searched for any remaining food inside. There were five pieces of bread and an empty water bottle.

I took the five pieces of bread and approached them. "Stand up and eat this little food."

They all stared at me in disbelief, unable to process what I had just said.

I broke a piece of the first bread I held and handed it to them individually, still in shock as they looked at me.

There were too many of them, so if I didn't organize the distribution of the bread, some might not get to eat.

They were already tearing up with overwhelming joy and accepted the small piece of bread. I also gave some to their old leader, Orum, who was clearly in disbelief at my actions.

The five pieces of bread were running out, but I saved a relatively large portion. I approached the female hoblins I had pinned down earlier and smiled at her. "May I know your name?"

She stared at me. "E-Eriza, beautiful warrior of Gemuria."

Her red eyes sparkled with admiration as she looked at me.

"Then Eriza, this is for you. Since you brought me here, this is your reward." I smiled as I handed her the remaining piece of bread I held.

She looked at it and then back at me, still in disbelief.

"Don't you want it? I can just keep it if you—"

Suddenly, she snatched it from me and began to eat it, tears in her eyes.

I smiled even more.

It would be alright if I went without food for the next two days. My body was accustomed to hunger, and there were plenty of forests with fruit trees that Nyebe and I could pass through.

I looked at all of them. I could see that they were carefully rationing the bread I had given them. Those with children were giving their bread to their offspring.

It felt like a pang in my heart seeing their sorrow, and I couldn't help but ask Eldery Orum, "What do hoblins like you eat, Elderly Orum? Isn't it found in this forest? Is it similar to what we humans eat?"

His face, along with the others, grew sadder than before when they had just been happy.

"There is no food here because this is not our home, Hemira."

I furrowed my brow. "Didn't you say you came from the forest of Kobal? Isn't this that forest?"

They all shook their heads.

"The forest you mentioned earlier, where Eriza came from, is our true home, the forest of Kobal." He gazed off into the distance.

I looked in the direction we had come from. Smoke was rising from there because of the magic I had used earlier, which resulted in fire and the burning of trees. "Then why are you here and not there? Is it because of those poisonous hypnalis?"

They all nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, heavy rain began to fall.

"Come, female warrior, to our home so you won't get soaked by the rain." Eriza held my hand, smiling at me.

I nodded at her.

Many of the hoblins, including Elderly Orum, begin to leave.

I held the rope tied around Nyebe's neck and led him with us. He was soaked just like us.

We walked not too far until we reached a very tall wall covered in large climbing plants, and I looked up in awe.

There was a small door at my feet, and I noticed it was open.

That was where the hoblins entered.

I first tied Nyebe to a tree with a canopy to shield him from the rain since he wouldn't fit through the small hoblins' door.

Eriza entered first, still holding my hand. I had to crouch down to get inside. I couldn't fit, so I crawled through.

Upon entering, I was not prepared for what I saw.

The bodies of the other hoblins were scattered across the vast barren land, devoid of any grass or even trees nearby. Some of them were already just bones.

There were also fabric coverings on the ground, and other hoblins resided there.

I looked at Eriza, my eyes widening in disbelief, but she was only bowing her head and crying, her frail shoulders shaking.

The hoblins present were just looking at me.

"Eriza… w-what happened here? Why are there so many dead hoblins around?"

She continued to cry.

I looked around again. It was a dry forest, and here it did not rain, unlike outside. I also noticed small mounds of land with flowers atop them, resembling graves.

"Hemira, those bodies and mounds are our heroes." I turned my gaze forward when Elderly Orum spoke. "They were the ones who tried to gather food for us in the forest of Kobal but met their unfortunate fate when they were bitten by hypnalis. They could not find the one who bit them, so they lost their lives," he added sadly.

I couldn't keep silent because there were truly so many dead hoblins around.

"Our food consists of the colorful leaves on the trees in the Kobal forest and also the plants. It has been half a year since those hypnalis took over our forest dwelling. Many of us have died and lost our lives because we tried to fight them and drive them away. Since I no longer want many more to lose their lives under my leadership, I ordered the remaining hoblins to just move here to this neighboring forest, but the problem is that we have nothing to eat."

The hoblins present began to cry.

"But why don't you bury and create graves for some of the scattered dead hoblins?" I pointed at the bones scattered around. If I belonged to their race, I could not bear to live among the corpses of my kin.

He turned his back to me, and I saw him observing the scattered bodies there.

I waited for what he would say next.

"As much as we would like to, we no longer have the strength to do so due to the lack of food. We are all skin and bones because of the scarcity of food, and no one is capable of digging to bury our heroes."

I felt deep sadness and pity for them.

***

Hypnalis - a black snake that is extremely venomous and can shed its skin in the morning but attacks at night. Its victims are either humans or animals who are deep in sleep. They attack in groups, and if you are bitten, you will only have one day to live.

To save yourself from death, you must find the very one that bit you and get bitten again by it, or else your wound will rot until it spreads throughout your entire body within a day.

It is difficult to defeat the venom of the hypnalis because they all look alike, with the same color and length. So, when you are bitten, the chance of finding which one attacked you is incredibly slim.

Hoblin - small beings, only up to the knee of ordinary humans. They are known for their secret benevolence towards humans. They can run swiftly but are not skilled at fighting because they are used to living in peaceful places.